Fishman Loudbox Mini Charge

Issue #59

Another fantastic feature is the Bluetooth connectivity. This allows you to play music from any Bluetooth-enabled device through the Loudbox. It’s super easy to set up, and it’s perfect for set breaks, backing tracks, or just cranking out the tunes at a barbecue.
Nick Jennison

PROS:

Portable, great sounding and stupidly loud

Long battery life

Bluetooth connectivity

CONS:

Reverb and chorus not footswitchable.

Guitar Interactive star rating: 4.5 stars

Fishman Loudbox Mini Charge

MSRP (UK) £575 (US) $657

Fishman Loudbox Mini Charge

Nick Jennison reviews Fishman's Loudbox Mini Charge, a portable, battery-powered amplifier designed to faithfully reproduce the sound of acoustic instruments and a diverse assortment of vocal or recorded accompaniments. With 60 Watts of power, dedicated instrument & mic channels, and Bluetooth connectivity for playback, the Loudbox Mini Charge can go anywhere you go.

Fishman know a thing or two about amplifying an acoustic guitar, I think it’s fair to say. Their pickup systems are recognised as some of the best in the world and are the system of choice for a great many acoustic guitar builders. The pickup is only half the battle though, and no matter how amazing your pickup is, it’s really only as good as what you plug it in to.

This is where the Loudbox Mini Charge comes in. At first glance, it looks exactly like Fishman’s existing Loudbox Mini, but with one notable difference. The Charge runs on it’s own internal battery. This means you can play it literally anywhere. Busking is an obvious application, but there are loads more situations where this would be useful. If you’re in a wedding band, this is perfect for your “afternoon acoustic set”. You can take it to open mic nights and sound great regardless of how poor the in-house rig is. Take it camping. Take it on tour. Have it in your car as a backup in case there’s a power cut at the gig. You get the picture.

That aside, let’s talk about how well it does the job of amplifying your guitar. Very well, as it happens. There are two channels, one for an instrument and another for a mic. You could use the latter for amplifying your vocals, or for connecting another electro-acoustic instrument (violin/cello/accordion/electric kazoo etc), or if you have a second sound source on your acoustic you could use this to blend the two signals. Each channel has it’s own gain, three-band EQ and reverb, and there’s a great sounding chorus on the “instrument” channel. The reverb and chorus are very impressive indeed, and seem to have a spacious stereo quality despite the Loudbox only sporting a single 6.5” woofer and accompanying 1.5” tweeter.

Another fantastic feature is the Bluetooth connectivity. This allows you to play music from any Bluetooth-enabled device through the Loudbox. It’s super easy to set up, and it’s perfect for set breaks, backing tracks, or just cranking out the tunes at a barbecue.

“Ok, ok” I hear you say, “But how loud does it go? How long does the battery last?”. Well, the Loudbox boasts a robust 60w of output and can put out SPLs of up to 108db. That’s as loud as your typical rock band, or if you prefer, a jackhammer. It’s bonkers, frankly. Battery life is up to 12 hours, so you can terrorise your neighbours all day if you so desire (not that we encourage this kind of behaviour ). You can also use the Loudbox while it’s charging, and there’s even a car charger available, so you can charge it up in the van on the way to the gig, or pull up at the roadside for a sing-song.

The Loudbox Mini Charge is a genuinely great little amp. It sounds great, it has a battery that lasts ages, and it’s monstrously loud. What more could you possibly want?